W pals bushwhack CIA leak prosecutor

New York Dailiy News ^ | Oct 24 05 | THOMAS M. DeFRANK and MICHAEL McAULIFF

[churchillbuff]

As the White House and Republicans brace for possible indictments in the CIA leak probe, defenders have launched a not-so-subtle campaign against the prosecutor handling the case. "He's a vile, detestable, moralistic person with no heart and no conscience who believes he's been tapped by God to do very important things," one White House ally said, referring to special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald was tapped nearly two years ago to find out whether anyone in the White House broke a federal law by blowing the cover of CIA operative Valerie Plame after her husband, Joseph Wilson, debunked administration claims about Saddam Hussein's nuclear activities.

President Bush recently praised Fitzgerald on NBC's "Today" show, saying: "The special prosecutor is conducting a very serious investigation. He's doing it in a very dignified way, by the way, and we'll see what he says."

But now friends of the White House have started whispering that the Brooklyn-raised prosecutor is overzealous after it became clear that Bush political mastermind Karl Rove and Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis (Scooter) Libby, are in Fitzgerald's cross hairs.

Such hints surfaced publicly for the first time yesterday when Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.), armed with comments that sources said were "shaped" by the White House, suggested Fitzgerald might nail someone on a "technicality" because they forgot something or misspoke.

"I certainly hope that if there is going to be an indictment ... it is an indictment on a crime and not some perjury technicality where they couldn't indict on the crime, and so they go to something just to show that their two years of investigation was not a waste," Hutchison said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Fitzgerald was first tasked with finding the Plame leaker, but his mandate expanded to include counts of perjury, obstruction of justice, intimidation of witnesses or destruction of evidence, should anyone undermine his probe.

There were several reports yesterday that Fitzgerald could warn people they've been indicted as soon as today, and that the grand jury could be called in for an unusual session tomorrow, but his office declined to comment.

[cardinal4]

Why dont you tell me? Are there going to be any?

[KenmcG414]

I don't believe this article, it looks politically motivated. Using anonymous sources to bad-mouth people doesn't hold water.

[processing please hold]

I'm in shock. I'm actually sitting here crying. The betrayal.

[Dolphy]

If you think I'm now going to soft-pedal perjury, if it turns out that a Republican or two might have committed it, you don't know me or my commitment to rule of law.

What rule of law do you believe that should ignore context? Does it matter to you that Wilson has been found to be a liar and misused the resources of this country to undermine an elected official at the time of war? Or do you think of him a patriotic whistle blower?

[AmishDude]

Actually, churchillbuff is very much a troll. He's a Patsy who attempts to stir the pot. Here are the last few articles he's posted. The title's enough to give you an idea. The titles are all his, including the parenthetical remarks. The sources are often the most obscure places you've never heard of.

• Malkin: Sen. Hutchison's blunder
• Peter Paul and Hillary (oldie but still important)
• W pals bushwhack CIA leak prosecutor
• Giuliani Tops List of U.S. Presidential Hopefuls
• Campaign 2008: Is America ready for woman president?
• Genetic trigger behind schizophrenia discovered
• Bush at bay
• Big-boy wrestlers a sumo-ngous hit (Sumos at Madison Square Garden)
• Iraq’s Constitution Is No Recipe for Democracy
• Merle Haggard: 'Rebuild America First' ("Let's get out of Iraq, back on track - rebuild USA first")
• Letter Shows Authority to Expand CIA Leak Probe Was Given in '04
• The Gospel According to Anne (Rice) (( Gothic writer turns to "Christ the Lord")
• "In re Subpeonas, re J. Miller"
• Waiting For The Valerie Plame Wilson Grand Jury (John Dean says indictments unlikely)
• Mao lookalike gives weddings revolutionary makeover
• Miers panel to hear "explosive" testamony? (Texas Lottery-related)
• "QUOTE FOR THE DAY" (Andrew Sullivan quotes Derbyshire on rise of socialism - and blames Bush)
• ADL Lauds Conviction of White Supremacist Matthew Hale (by Prosecutor PATRICK FITZGERALD)
• White House Defense Crumbling in Leak Case

He was really big into the antiwar stuff.

[demkicker]

Sounds like the authors are making up stories, trying to "tick off" Fitzgerald.

Bingo, you got it! The very first quote in the article is a dead give away. Typical MSM lies & crap.

[cardinal4]

I think people are getting sick of Fitzgerald being written up like he's a saint just because he's about to indict Republican officials.

Do you know something, we, MSM, the White House and the DOJ dont?

[karnage]

No indictments.

[churchillbuff]

Does it matter to you that Wilson has been found to be a liar"""

If he lied under oath, he should be tried and convicted.

[churchillbuff]

People remember the vicious attacks on Starr."""

I certainly do, and I hope conservatives don't use that Carvillian playbook against Fitzgerald.

[Trust but Verify]

Who cares? I don't. There are people I respect in the conservative movement and people who I think are embarassing. Hannity is embarassing.

[NRA2BFree]

What really gripes me is that the RATS have been breaking the law REPEATEDLY for a long time, and the Republicans NEVER do one darn thing about it. Look what Sandy Berger got for stealing "classified documents." He basically got a slap on the hand, and then there's all of the "gate" cases that no one ever did anything thing about. (memo gate etc.) They just let them walk! The Clintons, AGore, JKerry, TKennedy, and numerous other RATS have broken the law MANY times and no one ever does a doggone thing, but now they're ALL out to get half of the GOP.

IF anyone from either party is guilty of crimes, they need to be tried and punished. It's no wonder America is in so much trouble. We have NUMEROUS criminals who are running it, and they have committed NUMEROUS crimes against AMERICANS, and they need to be tried and sent to prison!! It's way past time that WE need to start holding them ALL accountable.

[marron]

No one is talking about the activities of Brewster Jennings. What exactly were they doing.

There is a question that has got lost along the way. Wilson's great claim was that not only was there no deal between Iraq and Niger, but that there never could have been any deal, because that would be smuggling, and neither Niger nor France would ever do such a thing.

In the Financial Times, as I recall, it was asserted later that after Libya "surrendered" its nuclear weapons program, they found that a good part of its yellow-cake uranium was smuggled in from Niger. That issue has since disappeared down the memory hole. Why?

During the Senate Hearings, it came out that there had been a report of uranium smuggling, with contraband being stored in a specific warehouse in Cotonou, Benin. CIA waited a full month before sending anyone to check it out; they reported back that the warehouse was empty. Why the wait? Why the lack of interest?

We know that Iraq did indeed send a delegation to Niger, and that Wilson knew it was true, meaning that CIA knew it was true. Why the lack of interest?

Does Brewster Jennings attempt to make deals in order to suss out who the players are, or does Brewster Jennings make deals?

[JABBERBONK]

Unless Fitzgerald can prove plame was covert when she was mentioned in the Novak piece, any ancillary indictments can only prove he is a partisan hack.

[roses of sharon]

Here is one more:

Evil Republicans are about to smear Fitz as a Christian pervert! Just like Carville and the press did to Ken Starr.

[JABBERBONK]

Unless Fitzgerald can prove plame was covert when she was mentioned in the Novak piece, any ancillary indictments can only prove he is a partisan hack.

[AmishDude]

Well, I only went back so far.

[Poser]

"He's a vile, detestable, moralistic person with no heart and no conscience who believes he's been tapped by God to do very important things," one White House ally said, referring to special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald.

Oh... It's not Democrats referring to GWB... Nevermind.

[COEXERJ145]

Neville is just good for laughs. Probably why they keep him around.

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

When Starr was being attacked, Hannity and I were in agreement that Carvillian smearing of the prosecutor was wrong. I wish Hannity would stick to those principles and not adopt a new face now.

Carville and Hannity aren't really all that different.

They both exercise situational ethics.